Neurodiversity

(Real) Human Resources

Welcome to our dedicated page aimed to curating trusted links related to various aspects of real life and mental health. We strive to provide an easy & reliable resource where you can discover valuable websites covering topics such as well-being, grief, mental health support, and more.

We encourage you to share websites that have personally benefited you for review and possible inclusion in our curated list, helping us build a community-driven repository of trusted resources.

We believe in the diversity of individual experiences and preferences. Please note that the information provided on this platform is intended for informational purposes only. We are not medical professionals, and the content here should not be construed as medical advice or a substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. Always consult qualified healthcare providers for personalized medical advice tailored to your specific needs.

Disclaimer:

ADDitude Magazine Online

www.additudemag.com

Neurodiversity

Since 1998, tens of millions of readers have trusted ADDitude to deliver expert advice and caring support, making us the leading media network for parents and adults living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADDitude is not only the world’s most trusted source of strategies and information about ADHD and related condition such as learning disabilities, anxiety, depression, and oppositional defiant disorder, we are also the voice and advocate of the ADHD community.

Our Mission

It is our mission to be our readers’ most reliable advisor and ally, and a source of inspiration along the path to health and well-being. We are committed to providing the most accurate, up-to-date information from the nation’s leading medical and mental health professionals in the field as well as empathetic voices from real people living with ADHD. We provide evidence-based, expert guidance and in-the-trenches understanding to help readers navigate the very real challenges that arise from living with ADHD and related conditions.

We recognize that the information we have at our disposal today might change with further evidence tomorrow; that’s why we continually research, fact-check, and work closely with the medical community to ensure we deliver the most dependable information we have right now.

Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)

www.awnnetwork.org

The mission of Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) is to provide community support, and resources for Autistic women, girls, transfeminine and transmasculine nonbinary people, trans people of all genders, Two Spirit people, and all people of marginalized genders or of no gender. AWN is committed to recognizing and celebrating diversity and the many intersectional experiences in our community.

Association for Autism & Neurodiversity

www.aane.org

The Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE) helps Autistic and similarly Neurodivergent people build meaningful, connected lives. We provide individuals, families, and professionals with education, community and support, in an inclusive atmosphere of validation and respect.

CHADD empowers people affected by ADHD by:

providing evidence-based information; supporting individuals, their families, and professionals who assist them throughout their journeys; and advocating for equity, inclusion, and universal rights.

Autism Empowerment

www.autismempowerment.org

Autism Empowerment is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization devoted to enriching and empowering the lives of youth, adults and families within Autism and Autistic communities. We promote a culture of Autism Acceptance and believe every one of us has strengths and gifts to share with the world.

We serve all ages and abilities and promote Four Foundational Pillars of positivity:

Accept (Acceptance)

Enrich (Enrichment)

Inspire (Inspiration)

Empower (Empowerment)

A paradigm-shifting study of neurodivergent women—those with ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, and sensory processing disorder—exploring why these traits are overlooked in women and how society benefits from allowing their unique strengths to flourish.

As a successful Harvard and Berkeley-educated writer, entrepreneur, and devoted mother, Jenara Nerenberg was shocked to discover that her “symptoms”--only ever labeled as anxiety-- were considered autistic and ADHD. Being a journalist, she dove into the research and uncovered neurodiversity—a framework that moves away from pathologizing “abnormal” versus “normal” brains and instead recognizes the vast diversity of our mental makeups.

When it comes to women, sensory processing differences are often overlooked, masked, or mistaken for something else entirely. Between a flawed system that focuses on diagnosing younger, male populations, and the fact that girls are conditioned from a young age to blend in and conform to gender expectations, women often don’t learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all. As a result, potentially millions live with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed neurodivergences, and the misidentification leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and shame. Meanwhile, we all miss out on the gifts their neurodivergent minds have to offer.

Divergent Mind is a long-overdue, much-needed answer for women who have a deep sense that they are “different.” Sharing real stories from women with high sensitivity, ADHD, autism, misophonia, dyslexia, SPD and more, Nerenberg explores how these brain variances present differently in women and dispels widely-held misconceptions (for example, it’s not that autistic people lack sensitivity and empathy, they have an overwhelming excess of it).

Nerenberg also offers us a path forward, describing practical changes in how we communicate, how we design our surroundings, and how we can better support divergent minds. When we allow our wide variety of brain makeups to flourish, we create a better tomorrow for us all.

About Unmasking Autism

A deep dive into the spectrum of Autistic experience and the phenomenon of masked Autism, giving individuals the tools to safely uncover their true selves while broadening society’s narrow understanding of neurodiversity

“A remarkable work that will stand at the forefront of the neurodiversity movement.”—Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP, author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism

For every visibly Autistic person you meet, there are countless “masked” Autistic people who pass as neurotypical. Masking is a common coping mechanism in which Autistic people hide their identifiably Autistic traits in order to fit in with societal norms, adopting a superficial personality at the expense of their mental health. This can include suppressing harmless stims, papering over communication challenges by presenting as unassuming and mild-mannered, and forcing themselves into situations that cause severe anxiety, all so they aren’t seen as needy or “odd.”

In Unmasking Autism, Dr. Devon Price shares his personal experience with masking and blends history, social science research, prescriptions, and personal profiles to tell a story of neurodivergence that has thus far been dominated by those on the outside looking in. For Dr. Price and many others, Autism is a deep source of uniqueness and beauty. Unfortunately, living in a neurotypical world means it can also be a source of incredible alienation and pain. Most masked Autistic individuals struggle for decades before discovering who they truly are. They are also more likely to be marginalized in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, class, and other factors, which contributes to their suffering and invisibility. Dr. Price lays the groundwork for unmasking and offers exercises that encourage self-expression, including:

• Celebrating special interests

• Cultivating Autistic relationships

• Reframing Autistic stereotypes

• And rediscovering your values

It’s time to honor the needs, diversity, and unique strengths of Autistic people so that they no longer have to mask—and it’s time for greater public acceptance and accommodation of difference. In embracing neurodiversity, we can all reap the rewards of nonconformity and learn to live authentically, Autistic and neurotypical people alike.

Embrace Autism

www.embrace-autism.com

Dissatisfied with the lack of information available on autism in adults, in 2018 we founded Embrace Autism, which we intended as a platform to distribute research and experience-based information on autism.

We did this as a way to empower ourselves and fellow autistics. Because for many of us, we don’t come to fully understand and appreciate ourselves until we find out that we are autistic, and find out more about what this entails.

Quality autism information can help us make sense of our lives, it can help us discover who we are and the amazing potential we have, and it can help us acknowledge the beauty and splendor in ourselves and each other.

And of course, Embrace Autism is also a vessel to share our own interest in autism, and our explorations in the research literature. Because, we greatly enjoy the learning process, are excited to share our findings, and get invigorated by the empowering effect it has on autistic people like us.

NeuroClastic

www.neuroclastic.com

We are a collective of Autistic people responsive to the evolving needs and trajectory of the Autistic community.

By publishing autistic voices, we are cataloguing the intersectional experiences, insights, knowledge, talents, and creative pursuits of Autistics. We follow a unique model of interdependence, leveraging the passions, skills, and specializations of contributors to create a living repository of information cataloging the autistic experience.

Submit your trusted resources with us, so we can share them with others.

Resource Topics

(Real) Human Resources

Submit a Resource Link

Here we are asking for you to share your own trusted links and free online resources for others that may be just life you, and need some info and understanding. Its so hard these days to know where to find information or find it overwhelming.

If you have a free website that you know has provided some guidance, information, please take a moment and send it to us so we may add it to our (Real) Human Resources page. All websites will be screened before being added to the page. Be sure to tell us what you’ve found helpful so we have a better idea and can include that for others.

In a world where its becoming harder and harder to know who and what can be trusted, we want to help take some of the guesswork and energy needed to sort through it all.